The city of Birmingham is busy working on a new $70-million development—one that will undoubtedly serve as a major boon to meetings in the area. The project consists first of a new 254-room Westin hotel, which is being built adjacent to the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex (BJCC), Alabama’s largest meeting facility. The Westin will feature 7,000 square feet of meeting space and a two-story grand lobby, and is expected to open in early 2013.
The new property will be managed by Starwood Hotels, which also manages the neighboring 757-room Sheraton Birmingham Hotel—itself fresh from a $21-million renovation, which included a full renewal of the lobby and the implementation of Like@Sheraton, a connectivity hub that provides complimentary wireless high-speed Internet access, as well as redecorated guest rooms and updated meeting spaces. The hotel offers 350,000 square feet of meeting and exhibition space, including Alabama’s largest ballroom (25,000 square feet). The Sheraton Birmingham is connected to the BJCC by skyway.
The other part of the $70-million development is the creation of an entertainment district, which will feature 60,000 square feet of restaurants and nightclubs. The entertainment area is expected to open on the heels of the Westin’s grand opening.
James H. Smither, president of the Greater Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau, said in a statement: “The new Westin, restaurants, and clubs will give the BJCC area an attractive
assortment of dining and entertainment options.”
Added Mayor William Bell right before the January groundbreaking: “The new hotel will give us 1,000 rooms near the BJCC and enable us to compete for bigger conventions that we can’t right now.”
Meanwhile, the Birmingham hotel known as the Wynfrey, which opened in 1986 and is one of the area’s premier convention hotels, is set for a major renovation and name change. The 329-room property first will undergo a multimillion-dollar overhaul of its guest rooms and public spaces, which is expected to begin this fall and be completed in early spring of next year. Then, following the renovation, the hotel will assume the Hyatt brand and become a Hyatt Regency. The upgrade is projected to impact occupancy substantially.
Ground has been broken near Railroad Park on a new $64-million baseball-park and museum project. The new stadium, which has been officially named Regions Field and will be home to the city’s AA baseball team, is scheduled to open in April 2013. A new museum, the Negro League Baseball Museum, is scheduled to open adjacent to the park.